385 GEOLOGY OF OHIO. 
been known to be more productive than thoze on southern slopes. The 
vreater fertility of northern slopes is not confined to the drift-deposits of 
Warren county, but is shown equally well in distant sections of the 
State. The hills of sandstone and shale that border the Scioto valley, 
for instance, have very different forest-growths on their opposite slopes, 
that of the northern aspect being by far the most valuable. The wear 
and waste of slopes that face the sun is certainly much greater than 
northern slopes would experience, and the supply of moisture is much 
more rapidly withdrawn by evaporation. 
In speaking of the upland drift-beds of Warren county, mention can 
appropriately be made of the wonderful strength and fertility of the soil 
along the ridge between the rivers. The belt of country traversed by 
the Dayton and Lebanon pike can scarcely be surpassed in general ad- 
vantages by any part of Ohio. Much of it equals in productiveness the 
best bottom lands, and certainly excels.them in durability, while in 
water-supply, in beauty of scenery, and in healthful conditions generally, 
it has a decided advantage. The appreciation of these excellencies can 
be seen in the fact that well improved farms in this region never change 
hands at less than one hundred dollars per acre, while, in some instances, 
the price runs up to double this amount. Comparatively few of the 
farming lands of the State yield clear profit to the owner when all need- 
ful elements are taken into the account, such as interest on the value of 
the land, taxes, and the expenses of producing the crop, but among these 
tracts will certainly be found the uplands of Warren county. They are 
being depleted in value, however, as rapidly as possible, under the pre- 
vailing systema of agriculture. The raising of tobacco is coming exten- 
sively into favor, and no crop makes a more fatal drain upon the soil, as 
all intelligent agriculturists are aware. 
Reference has already been made to the water-supply of some districts 
of the county. It may be said, in general terms, that the water supply 
is derived from the drift. The outliers of clifflimestone furnish along 
their outcrops a fine series of spriags, as they always must, from the col- 
location of their geological elements. Some districts, scattered here and 
there through the county, are obliged to depend upon the Blue Lime- 
stone, the yellow clays overlying, at little depth, the rocky strata. Such 
a, supply is always poor, alike defective in quantity and objectionable in 
quality. Rain water, pr perly secured in cisterns, is the only adequate 
and profitable supply in all these districts. The sooner this mode of 
supply is brought into requisition, the better for man and beast. In the 
regiou of the heavier drift-beds, however, a generous supply of water is 
aceessible in wells and springs. The wells, in but few instances, are 
